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Great British Train Journeys from Above Season 1 Episode 3
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FunTranscript
00:00Join us on a voyage of discovery.
00:11As we follow the most spectacular steam train journeys in Britain, from above.
00:20We'll showcase these machines in all their glory,
00:24travelling through the most breathtaking landscape the country has to offer.
00:30The North Yorkshire Moors.
00:33The Highlands of Scotland.
00:36The rolling hills of Somerset.
00:39And Snowdonia, known today as Errerie.
00:45Our trains are time travellers.
00:51Transporting us back to the golden age of steam.
00:56To unravel the truth about Britain's great railway revolution.
01:06Sit back.
01:08Soak up the scenery.
01:10And enjoy all the romance and the thrill of a steam train journey.
01:15Like you've never seen it before.
01:28It's hard to imagine what life was like before the railway revolution.
01:33To get around, most people walked everywhere.
01:48Another form of transport was the horse.
01:59But in the 4,000 years since people had first ridden them, there had been little development in travel.
02:06It was then that an uneducated, working class engineer, toiling away in the coal mines of North East England.
02:16It was to overturn thousands of years of human history.
02:23The North Yorkshire Moors is an ancient land forged by nature over millions of years.
02:47It's a place of great beauty and tranquility that's barely been touched by the modern world.
03:00But breaking the silence is a magnificent machine with an epic tale to tell.
03:21The creation of one of the world's first new modes of transport for thousands of years.
03:34The steam railway spearheaded the evolution of transport and technology.
03:40The motor car, the jet engine, the space rocket.
03:51It all began with the creator of the steam railway.
03:57His name is George Stevenson.
04:01And travelling on board one of his glorious steam trains must have felt like flying to another planet.
04:18As the train cuts through the rolling moors, it's about to reveal how Stevenson's steam railways were born.
04:29And more importantly, how they changed the world forever.
04:38Precious little remains to mark the 27th of September, 1825.
04:58George Stevenson needed a flat landscape to build a track from New York to New York.
05:04New York to New York to New York to New York to New York to New York to New York to New York to New York to New York.
05:10Capable of carrying a heavy engine.
05:13This footpath follows the route he chose in County Durham, between Stockton and Darlington.
05:19It was here that Stevenson's new machine, locomotion number one, pulled 300 passengers along the 26 mile long track.
05:37People on horses tried to keep up with the trailblazing locomotive.
05:44But travelling at 15 miles per hour, locomotion number one left them in its wake.
05:53Stevenson transformed the way we think about geography and distance, enabling humans to travel faster and further than ever before.
06:07Just five years later, Stevenson developed a new locomotive, rocket, that ran between Liverpool and Manchester at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
06:21We now know this as the creation of the first railways, and the world has never looked back.
06:36Stevenson's fame was spreading.
06:39A few years later, from this first railway between Stockton and Darlington, in a nearby town, Whitby, just 40 miles east of Stockton, forward-thinking local businessmen approached him to build a track to carry horse-drawn wagons through the moors to a market town inland.
07:01Building a track through the hilly moorland terrain was a major engineering challenge.
07:08While still using horsepower, it had the aim of carrying much larger quantities of goods than the dirt roads of the time, in linked wagons along a track of rails.
07:31In the early 1800s, Whitby was primarily connected to the rest of the country, and the wider world, by sea.
07:45The local hero was Captain James Cook, whose now controversial seafaring expeditions to uncharted territories had brought the first European contact with new lands, including Australia.
08:00Cook's ship, HMS Endeavour, was built here in Whitby.
08:07Whitby became a prosperous port, with booming shipbuilding and whaling industries, that saw itself as a centre of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.
08:20So, it was natural for Whitby's entrepreneurs to look to Stephenson and the latest technology to help them extend their economic success.
08:32At the time, building a steam locomotive powerful enough to carry wagons uphill was difficult, because it would be too heavy for the recently invented rails.
08:45But the track alone had the potential to transform local industry.
08:55At Whitby station, an immaculate steam engine called Eric is preparing for its epic journey along the same track that Stephenson set out to build.
09:05The challenge for Stephenson was to find a way to cross rivers, carve a path up into the moors, and negotiate valleys and steep hillsides.
09:18And cement his growing reputation as the greatest engineer of all time.
09:25The train's journey begins along Stephenson's track.
09:31As it leaves Whitby and the coast behind, passengers are greeted by one of the most beautiful pieces of railway engineering in the country.
09:59Later, we will hear how steam trains were introduced onto Stephenson's track.
10:10And here, at La Paul Viaduct, is an example of the remarkable railway engineering to come.
10:18Built to carry passengers along the coast to its seaside neighbour, Scarborough, the viaduct is a masterpiece of the railway age.
10:37Constructed from 5 million bricks, with 13 brick arches towering 120 feet above the railway,
10:48and spanning over 900 feet across the river Esk.
10:54As the magnificent steam locomotive cruises along the river bank, it's easy to see how people fall in love with steam trains.
11:11But when they first appeared, they were met with widespread hostility, vociferous opposition, and even rioting.
11:26In Whitby, Stephenson's reputation was pivotal to convincing people that a safe and reliable track, with the potential for a train, was the future.
11:38The train is heading for the first station along the line.
12:06Where Stephenson's immediate challenge was crossing a river.
12:13After passing through Russep station, the locomotive glides onto a 300-foot bridge over the Esk river.
12:25In exactly the same spot, Stephenson chose to build the original bridge to carry the track.
12:32Stephenson constructed his original bridge for horses from Baltic pine, a typical building material for early rail tracks, as it was strong, readily available, and easily crafted into shape.
12:46Today, the bridge is made from iron, so it is strong enough to carry heavy steam trains.
12:53After Russep, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway emerges into the vast open expanse of the Esk Valley.
13:00To build the track, Stephenson had to find a route which was as flat as possible.
13:07His solution was to chart its course along the river, creating the need for bridges to cross it many times.
13:14Each with their own engineering challenge.
13:21Crossing the 10th bridge in just five miles of track, the steam locomotive turned south.
13:28and prepares to tackle the moors.
13:29Pamela
13:56Next
14:01Stevenson has to solve the challenge
14:10of building a track up steep inclines
14:17and tunnelling through rock
14:26In the North Yorkshire moors
14:44a magnificent locomotive called Eric
14:49is pulling into Gromont station
14:52to take a breather
14:56On the second leg of its grand adventure
15:04on the North Yorkshire moors railway
15:06the locomotive is about to discover
15:09how the great railway engineer George Stevenson
15:13confronted the challenge of constructing a groundbreaking new track
15:18through some of the toughest terrain in the country
15:21Having finished the first five miles of track
15:28with its ten bridges
15:30on the way to Gromont
15:36Stevenson faced a bigger hurdle
15:40A large hill called Lease Rig blocked the path
15:46To forge a way ahead through the moors
15:49Stevenson could either go around the hill
15:51or over it
15:53But he had a different idea
15:55He was going to go through it
15:56He was going to go through it
16:02He was going to go through it
16:05A large hill called Lease Rig blocked the path
16:07To forge a way ahead through the moors
16:08Stevenson could either go around the hill
16:09Or over it
16:10But he had a different idea
16:11He was going to go through it
16:15He was going to go through it
16:17He was going to go through it
16:22He was going to go through it
16:25Today we take it for granted
16:27It's called a tunnel
16:29But for Stevenson it involved a radically new form of engineering
16:36The train is approaching two tunnels
16:40And later in the journey we'll find out why and how a second one was built by another character
16:47Central to the story of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
16:53And how unlike the hero Stevenson he would be cast as a villain
17:05The train has entered the larger dual track tunnel on the right
17:09But on the left is Stevenson's original tunnel
17:14Built for his track and its horse-drawn wagons carrying coal, iron ore and a few passengers
17:21To construct his tunnel, one of the world's very first to carry passengers
17:28Stevenson's men dug through 120 yards of rock using manual labour
17:35Digging in short sections to prop up the walls
17:40And lining the tunnel with bricks
17:42To reinforce the structure and prevent it from collapsing
17:54Stevenson's tunnel was a great leap forward in engineering
17:58Locals were so proud of the ground-breaking structure
18:02They named the growing settlement next to it
18:05Tunnel
18:07But it's what was discovered during the tunnel's excavation
18:12That had the most dramatic impact on the people
18:15And the economy of the local area
18:18Inside exposed crevices of the rock along the riverbank
18:28Lie deposits of iron ore
18:30That were first uncovered when Stevenson built his tunnel
18:34Widespread digging for iron deposits began
18:39Even under the station itself
18:46And iron ore was sent down the track to Whitby Harbour
18:52Two local ironworks soon became the major employer
19:00With a 500-strong workforce
19:02At its peak, 70,000 tonnes of iron ore were produced every year
19:13The growing village of Tunnel became a hotbed of industry
19:17And was given a new name
19:20Gromont
19:23Stevenson's track burnished his reputation
19:27And enabled him to show how it could spark the growth of industry
19:33By providing a vital link between coastal ports like Whitby
19:37And remote inland areas
19:47A mile or so along the line
19:49The locomotive is stretching its legs
19:51In the peace and tranquility of the countryside
19:54After the endeavour of Whitby
19:59And the industry of Gromont
20:01It's an ideal opportunity for passengers to sit back
20:06And enjoy the kaleidoscope of autumn colours
20:11As the train approaches a quaint little village called Bek Hole
20:28It meanders through a forested valley
20:32That is a riot of red, orange and yellow leaves
20:36To build the track for his horse-drawn wagons
20:45Stevenson had to find the path of least resistance through the landscape
20:53To do this, he followed the valley floor
20:56Which made construction easier and more cost-effective
21:00With fewer man-made embankments and cuttings
21:03Stevenson's track may have been the first time Bek Hole was connected to the outside world
21:15But it didn't disturb the villagers' fondness for the past
21:24Bek Hole didn't get electricity until 1948
21:28And Maine's water came only four years later
21:33Television didn't arrive until 1989
21:38And then only when residents erected their own mast on top of the nearby hill
21:44And at the next stop along the line
21:50The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
21:55Will reveal they might well have been tuning into a TV drama
21:59That was very close to home
22:13The steam train is entering Goatland Station
22:16It's a familiar place
22:20For fans of one of the world's most popular movie franchises
22:30The producers of the Harry Potter movies chose Goatland
22:34As the backdrop for the magic moment
22:36Harry, Ron and Hermione
22:38Arrive at Hogsmeade Station for the first time
22:42In the first film
22:47Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
22:50On the platform, Harry is greeted by Hagrid
23:05Before he leads them to Hogwarts
23:07As the train rests in the station
23:17It's easy to imagine Hogwarts Castle
23:19Sitting on top of a hill
23:21Rising above the station
23:27Goatland Station doesn't just draw in Potter fans
23:30Passengers alight here to wander up to the classic Yorkshire village
23:42Set against a spectacular moorland backdrop
23:49Sheep are leisurely grazing everywhere you look
23:52Goatland was the perfect setting for British TV drama Heartbeat
24:04When it launched in the 1990s
24:10Heartbeat was an instant success
24:13With audiences peaking at 14 million
24:21And for 20 years
24:23Viewers tuned in every Sunday
24:25For their weekly dose of the comings and goings
24:28Around the fictional village of Agensfield
24:35Goatland resembles a 1960s TV set
24:37With its vintage garage
24:40Its country pub
24:43Its quaint tea rooms
24:47And of course
24:49Its station
24:51Where the locomotive is having a well-earned rest
24:55After the most testing section of the journey
24:57As another train cruises into Goatland Station
25:01The locomotive is travelling in reverse
25:03On its way back to Whitby
25:05The stations on the line have a dual track
25:07So trains can pass each other
25:09As 80136 has a drink
25:13It's time for Eric the locomotive to leave
25:15To get the journey
25:17As another train cruises into Goatland Station
25:19The locomotive is travelling in reverse
25:21On its way back to Whitby
25:23The stations on the line have a dual track
25:25So trains can pass each other
25:27As 80136 has a drink
25:29The locomotive to leave
25:39The locomotive is working hard
25:41As it gets up to speed
25:53And sets off back into the moors
25:59But it's what was discovered during the tunnel's excavation
26:03But it's what was discovered during the tunnel's excavation
26:07That had the most dramatic impact on the people
26:09And the economy of the local area
26:17And even just its name explains why
26:19It was a major headache for him
26:21Fen bog
26:31Fen bog
26:33Is a nature reserve bounded by moorland streams
26:35Which feed the fen with water
26:37To create the bog
26:39It's a haven for insects and plants
26:43But it's hard to imagine a more unforgiving place
26:53To build a railway
26:55To stop the track from sinking
26:57And make the bog passable
27:07To stop the track from sinking
27:09And make the bog passable
27:11Stevenson had a radical idea
27:17He stabilised the land
27:19By pile driving fir trees into the bog
27:21And overlaying them with sheaves of heather
27:25Bound in sheepskin
27:31In addition, deep drains were dug alongside the track
27:33To provide drainage
27:43Fen bog is typical of Stevenson's
27:45Groundbreaking approach to engineering
27:47The first bridges
27:55The first tunnels
27:57And even
27:59A watery bog
28:09Stevenson's engineering of the track
28:11Changed the lives of the people
28:13And created a blueprint
28:17And created a blueprint
28:19For the development and expansion of the railways
28:21And their transformation of society
28:27It's the enduring legacy
28:29Of the person known as
28:31The father
28:33Of the railways
28:35Next
28:45Stevenson had built his track
28:47But there was another key development to come
28:49The introduction of steam trains
28:55And the arrival of the railway king
28:57A man who would later come to be seen
28:59And the arrival of the railway king
29:01A man who would later come to be seen
29:05As a villain
29:09In the North Yorkshire moors, a steam locomotive called Eric is taking us on a grand adventure
29:38back to the origin of the railways.
29:42On this leg, as the train explores the mystery and enchantment of the moors,
29:48the train starts to unravel the legend and the tragedy of the railway king, George Hudson.
29:56The man whose introduction of steam trains to the line was all part of his grand plan
30:03to whip up Britain into a railway building frenzy.
30:0812 miles out from Whitby, the train has reached the halfway point of the North Yorkshire moors railway.
30:32A truly spectacular Newtondale Gorge.
30:40The train is about to reveal how George Hudson built the largest railway empire the world had ever seen.
30:48But to understand the seeds of his demise, we need to go back to Whitby.
30:58Just a stone's throw from the station.
31:02And right next to the harbour lies the Angel Inn.
31:06It was here that Stevenson, having built his track, met the thrusting young entrepreneurial buccaneer, George Hudson.
31:21Hudson had inherited property in Whitby and came to the town to inspect it.
31:26His vision, railways could not only carry goods and transport people to locations for trade,
31:35but they might also use the railway for entertainment and fun.
31:40At the time, the vast majority of people never really travelled beyond their village or local town.
31:55But Hudson imagined a future when they would be able to travel to new places,
32:00not for any specific purpose, but to explore and discover them.
32:05Hudson's brainwave was that if the Whitby and Pickering track could add steam trains,
32:24they could bring ever more people to the town.
32:28Drawn in by the striking grace of Whitby Abbey and the town's growing reputation as a spa resort.
32:35Hudson, the entrepreneur, had a radical way to deliver his plan.
32:42Hudson, the entrepreneur, had a radical way to deliver his plan.
32:42He would buy the track and add the steam trains.
32:48His vision was that the new passenger railway would make Whitby a holiday destination
32:54and increase the value of his property.
32:58And he set out on a grand plan to develop the town.
33:01On Westcliffe, he built the Royal Hotel.
33:08From the majestic clifftop location, the hotel's guests had the best views in town.
33:15Across the harbour to the abbey, out to sea and along the coast.
33:21Just along the cliff, Hudson imagined that Whitby could have its own Royal Crescent,
33:29just like Britain's renowned Roman town of Bath.
33:35So he built elegant townhouses, fit for the aspiring middle class.
33:41Hudson's Royal Crescent was intended to be a semicircle, but it is only half finished.
33:53On its journey through the moors, the steam train charts Hudson's rise to power, influence, and untold riches.
34:06But also the seeds of his disaster.
34:10Having bought the track, Hudson faced the challenge of transforming it into what we now know as a railway-carrying trains.
34:23To do this, he needed to build a new tunnel at Grosmont, large enough for steam trains.
34:32Strengthen the bridges, build larger stations, and introduce regular, fast, and frequent passenger services.
34:39When the track opened in 1835, it took horses nearly three hours to pull the wagons along the line.
34:52But after Hudson's overhaul, steam trains galloped along the route in just half the time.
35:00The railway thrived, and profits flowed.
35:03Hudson's empire was growing rapidly.
35:11He extended his new railway to York, where it connected with other lines he owned.
35:21By the mid-1840s, Hudson owned a thousand miles of track.
35:28And became known as the Railway King.
35:31There were twelve new railway schemes coming before Parliament each week.
35:41And plans for over 8,000 miles of new track.
35:50The whole country was consumed with what began to be described as railway mania.
35:56Led by the railway king.
35:59As his empire grew, Hudson's wealth exploded.
36:06He had become one of the richest men in the land.
36:10Newtondale Gorge was also formed by the power of water.
36:26The train is passing through a glacial meltwater channel, scoured out 10,000 years ago by great torrents of water thundering downhill.
36:46The locomotive is approaching the end of Newtondale Gorge, where all that water has created a unique spot to contemplate what happens when the beauty of the natural world and the power of the man-made world are perfectly intertwined.
37:05Perched on a high escarpment above the line, Skelton Tower is the only sign of civilisation that passengers have spotted for miles.
37:23Built at the same time as the railway, the two-storey ruin is the perfect spot for a mystery to linger.
37:36It was built by Reverend Robert Skelton, the rector of a local village.
37:42But there's no proof what he used it for.
37:55Some say he came here to write his sermons in the peace of the countryside.
38:00Others claim he escaped here to enjoy a quiet drink.
38:07The most likely theory is that the Reverend's family wealth allowed him to live as a gentleman, with ample leisure time for country pursuits at his hunting lodge.
38:21But there's one thing we can say for certain about the Reverend.
38:26He had a spectacular view of the steam trains travelling through the gorge.
38:32On the final leg of the journey, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway uncovers what it would take to send the railway king's empire off the rails.
38:57Deep in North Yorkshire.
39:23A steam locomotive called Eric is on the final leg of its Grand Moorland Adventure, where it's about to discover what it would take to bring down the Railway King.
39:42Just five miles from its final destination, the locomotive is approaching Levisham Station.
39:49As it pulls into the station, passengers are witnessing a ceremony that harks back to the early days of the railways.
39:56As another train is waiting to leave.
39:57The signalman is waiting to leave.
39:58The signalman is waiting to leave.
39:59Just five miles from its final destination, the locomotive is approaching Levisham Station.
40:09The signalman is waiting to collect a token from the train driver.
40:10Known as the token block system, it was a safety mechanism designed to prevent steam trains from colliding on ships.
40:12single track sections of the railway.
40:14One of the trains and trains two miles from the railway at the railway at the railway.
40:18They're sitting looking at a street and inspecting centre.
40:19The train is waiting to take off the subway in here.
40:20They have to see how they deliver.
40:21They have to see what they do, they have to see how they can do it.
40:22Over here, they have to see how they can do it.
40:23They have to see how they can do it.
40:24This train is getting off the train.
40:25pops out of his signal box to collect a token from the train driver.
40:32Known as the token block system, it was a safety mechanism
40:36designed to prevent steam trains from colliding on single track sections of the railway.
40:43Each token was proof that a train occupied a particular section of track,
40:49so no two trains enter it simultaneously.
40:55Safety systems like this were critical to the success of early rail travel.
41:10The train steams out of Leversham station.
41:14With just four miles to go, the train treks into another long moorland valley for the final time.
41:25By 1848, Hudson's empire had grown exponentially.
41:43Thousands of his investors had made huge profits, and railway mania gripped the country.
41:50Hudson was a past master at telling a great story, and convincing ever more potential investors
42:00to hand over their hard-earned savings in search of quick gains.
42:04Not unlike the stock market startup speculation of today.
42:13Hudson's investors were convinced by his rhetoric.
42:19And the strong annual returns that they were receiving as dividends.
42:22Galloping out of the moors, Eric the locomotive has a final opportunity to hit top speed as the steam train heads for home.
42:40But as the weather closes in, the dark clouds hanging over the railway are symbolic of trouble brewing for George Hudson.
42:53In 1848, cracks in the railway king's empire began to show.
42:58Hudson's projects were not as successful as he had claimed, and many had hoped.
43:07Investors were spooked, and the backlash against the railway king began.
43:12The train is approaching the outskirts of Pickering, a market town on the edge of the moors.
43:28But before the locomotive arrives at its ultimate destination, there's a final twist in the tale of the railway king.
43:37To maintain and accelerate the growth of his empire, Hudson had bolstered profits and dividends with new tranches of investment.
43:50A fraudulent activity.
43:55He was forced to repay large sums of money, which he was deemed to have misappropriated.
44:00Within three years, by 1851, Hudson was declared bankrupt, and his entire fortune had vanished.
44:13Hudson was a national disgrace, and he fled to France.
44:19In 1865, he tried to return to public life in Whitby by standing as the local MP.
44:27But just before polling day, he was arrested and spent three months in jail.
44:40Hudson's fall had been as spectacular as his rise.
44:45Despite the dodgy deals and tragedy of his life, the railway king transformed Britain.
45:04And built on the great advances of the hero of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, George Stevenson.
45:10The steam locomotive heads towards Pickering Station.
45:19The train has reached the end of the line.
45:23The story told.
45:24Stevenson had a bold vision to get the world on the move at a time when nothing could travel faster than a horse.
45:41Stevenson's railway revolution connected people and places across the land as never before.
45:50Trade and industry boomed.
45:55Business and commerce thrived.
45:57Society and culture were changed forever.
46:01George Stevenson will always be revered as the inventor of the steam railway.
46:07But what he'd really created was the start of the modern world.
46:16He's researching it, he's helping build it, then he's got to drive it.
46:31Join us tomorrow on Channel 4 for Guy Martin, the British train that changed the world from half seven.
46:37Then more from our generational treasure hunt Tuesday night to the last location before the final where worlds are parting from 9.15.
46:45Next tonight he's an ex-commando vigilante and he's ready to avenge Denzel Washington goes full Edward Woodward in the equaliser.
46:53I'm sorry.
46:54The Fate of News
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